Very sharp and versatile - quick focusing. Excellent bang for the buck! Everything is well built and works as expected.

No IS - not really a complaint as this would drive the cost way up.

I read every review I could find on this lens before purchasing. When I first received the lens - it was shooting slightly soft and not as sharp as I had hoped. One day when removing the shade I noticed the entire end of the lens was turning. I unscrewed the entire end assembly and looked inside. Screwed it back together tightly and took some shots. What an amazing difference, it was now tack sharp as I had hoped it would be.

Shooting on a Canon 7D with and without a Sigma 2x Teleconverter - I can easily handhold shots for awhile - it is heavy. My lens has the larger grip as it is the newer DG model and it is great for holding. Need to keep shutter speed up when hand holding shots. The 7D has a 100% viewfinder and it is awesome paired with this lens.

Mainly shoot birds at 300 and yet love the flexibility to be able to zoom out sometimes. I find myself even taking macro shots using an extender.

Purchased lenscovers to protect the finish and a neoprene lens cap.

I love this lens!

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Canon 300 f2.8 L IS
Canon 300 f4 L IS
Canon 70-200 f2.8 L
Canon 70-200 f4 L IS

Tack sharp at any zoom range, wonderful colors and bokeh, tested and proven in the field, built like a rock.....

The weight.....but I can live with it.....

I know a number of fellow photographers who have this lens and have seen their pictures taken with this lens. It has since become my dream lens.
So, when my IRS refund check arrived in the mail in late March, I decided to buy this lens. I purchased mine from Adorama in New York for $2,899 with free shipping (7 to 10 working days via UPS). My excitement in buying the lens made me choose next-day UPS delivery for $100.
I have since used this lens for my work shooting Hollywood celebrities for the past two weeks and all I can say is that Sigma did a good job on this one. I was contemplating of buying the Canon EF 300 /f2.8 IS, but was swayed towards the Sigma because of the zoom factor (120 to 300mm) and at the same time retaining the fast f/2.8 aperture of the Canon prime.
After using it for the past two weeks on my Canon 50D body all I can say is that this lens far more sharper than my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 (non-IS).

Customer Service

I can't seem to find any link on Sigma's official website on how and where to register my lens.....

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 35-350L
Sigma 50-500 (Bigma)

It's a 300mm lens that gives an aperture of f2.8 for about half the price of the equivalent Nikon or Cannon primes.

The 120-300mm zoom range is really nice to have.

Probably a good lens if you can find one without flaws, but do you want to take that risk?.

Build quality is terrible and quality control at Sigma is obviously non existent.

Be prepared for a replacement to be a refurbished unit too (my second example was obviously refurbished, something that Sigma have now admitted).

Soft, even when stepped down to f8, even softer (I'd go as far to say unusable soft) when using the 1.4x convertor, but then I've not had a good example to be sure.

Auto focus hunts in low light.

You get what you pay for - this is half the price of Nikon's or Cannon's 300mm f2.8 lenses. You can tell.

I bought this lens for photographing motor sport primarily, along with some wild life. Had to be special ordered though my local retailer which took almost two weeks.

The lens is quite soft when used wide open at 300mm (f2.8), especially at the edge of the frame. Stepping it down to F8 improves the sharpness, although it is still perhaps a little soft around the edge. Auto focus can struggle in low light conditions, but generally seems fast and efficient. The lens generally performs well, and I've so far taken quite a few decent shots of dear with it, although I've not yet managed to use it for motor sport.

The lens weighs a fair bit, and although you can hand hold it, you wouldn't want to do this for long periods. This lens really needs to be used on a tripod or monopod. Since the focusing is internal, the lens does not change length when zooming in or out or whilst focusing and therefore you will be able to use a been bag or similar for support with no problems.

One minor issue, when comparing this lens to Sigma's 300mm prime, is that it does not employ the drop in filter system that the prime does, so if you want to use filters you'll need ones that fit the large front diameter. Not cheap.

So far so good, but be prepared to be seriously disappointed with the build quality. I've now returned my second due to scratches on the internal elements on both examples I've received. These are clearly visible if you look into the front of the lens. If I want a third attempt at getting one of these, I'll need to wait for another new lens to come in from Japan, as there are currently no perfect examples of this lens in the UK. Not impressive. Probably not going to bother with any Sigma lens from now on, I'll save up and get the Nikon 300mm prime, which I guess is what I should have done in the first place.

Customer Service

Absolutely abysmal. They knowingly sent out a refurbished unit as new. I will never use a Sigma product again.

Similar Products Used:

None, but will be replaced with a Nikon lens. Either the 70-200 f2.8 VR or the 300mm f2.8 prime.

Build quality, image quality, functionality, price

lens hood/cap system

Before buying this lens I was shooting two bodies to cover the focal range of the Sigma 120-300/2.8. I had a 300/2.8 on one body and a 70-200/2.8 on the other for a total of around 20 lbs. When shooting a tournament for 12 hours a day you quickly appreciate the weight savings. The biggest bonus is not giving up any image quality over the 300/2.8 making it the most productive lens I have ever owned.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 24-70/2.8 another excellent lens

Incredible sharpness, great contrast, great AF speed, built like a tank, unbelievably reasonable price. Very versatile lens.

Heavy, comes with a funky leather lens cap.

A very heavy lens, but not as heavy as the primes with which it competes. I bought this lens primarily to use with a 2x TC for wildlife, but I wound up selling my Canon 70-200 f2.8L because it works great for sports/action/low light as well. For the money, this is just an incredible buy. Its sharpness rivals the Canon L primes even with a teleconverter, and it even gives acceptable IQ and sharpness with the 2X stacked with a 1.4. Only thing I didn't like about it was the fact it came with a leather cap instead of a plastic lens cap, but I picked a plastic cap up on ebay for $10.

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

Canon 70-200 f2.8L, Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6L IS.

Superb optics, zoom range, build and durability...

A real heavyweight...heaviest lens I've ever used. Lacks some AF tracking capabilities. The "stock" tripod/monopod mount gets a low rating. The threading on mine stripped out after about 4 months and had to spend $150 (B&H) to get a replacement, which, incidentally, was much more durably made. Don't know why Sigma doesn't provide the "replacement" mount when you purchase the lens in the first place. Lens hood is a bit small.

There's pros and cons regarding this lens, but the pros outweigh the cons by far. It's zoom range is one of the handiest things I've ever seen in regards to shooting action -outdoor sports. Read up on it extensively before I purchased my a year or so back and heard all kinds of negatives regarding its AF capabilities. From what I gather through various internet photography forums, it seems most of the AF negatives come from Nikon users. I've used mine extensively with a Canon EOS 1D with and without Canon 2X and 1.4X teleconverters and have gotten excellent results. I'm not saying its AF capabilities are up to snuff with Canon's L line of primes and zooms, but its super-impressive zoom capabilities make up for any inadequacies in my opinion. Optically, it's as good as any lens I've ever used and I give it my highest recommendation. Lots and lots of bang for the buck!

Customer Service

No need. Was asked by several photogs why I didn't get Sigma to replace the strip-threaded collar after only 4 months of use, but I used the 120-300 so extensively that I had to have a replacement immediately. Don't know if Sigma would've replaced it or how long it would've taken to get it replaced in the first place.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 70-200 f/2.8, Canon 300 f/2.8 (15-minute test run at a football game).

Zoom range.

Can not focus correctly when set to 300mm.

This would be the lens of my dreams if functioning properly. After trying 2 different new lenses on 2 different Nikon D70 cameras, focus is in 95 % of the images 1-3 dm (4-12 inches) behind the subject I aim for, when shooting from 10 m distance. One of the lenses was sent to authorized Sigma service for check between tests, one of the cameras was sent to Nikon for focus adjustment. Problem is still remaining afterwards. Several hundreds of pictures taken, subject NOT moving. It is very evident shooting at F2.8 from 10 m and zoomed to 300 mm, but at closer distance and / or zoomed out it seems to be OK. Also, first focusing 2 m behind subject and then refocusing on my main subject when taking the picture, seems to give worse result than first focusing at closer distance. My 15 years old AF Nikkor 300/4 provides 100 % images with correct focus under the same conditions (same subject, distance, light, camera settings, focus procedure etc.) On my Nikon F4, I have not observed the problem, although only one roll of film taken and not exactly same distances. Another odd observation regarding this lens is the focal length when set to 300 mm. I did observe a significant difference to my old Nikkor, which brought me closer to the subject. I took some images of a long ruler from 8 m distance and then calculated the focal length. The Nikkor was 305 mm and the Sigma 270 mm. Sigma Corporation, Tokyo head office, informed me that focal length should be measured focused at infinity. In that case focal length is less than 270 mm since it decreases when focusing to infinity (same result for both 2 Sigma lenses tested). This is not a major problem though. Sigma corp. answered to my questions regarding focus problem with providing info of the lens optical performance, but did not comment on what could cause the focus problem and not what I could do about it. After writing three letters, they now claim that the camera is faulty, but that it is not possible to detect the fault with any other lens (!). I have been testing and discussing this issue with my local retailer and Sigma for almost two months now. If they can provide a lens working properly on my D70, I will recommend the lens. Now it is worthless.

Customer Service

Bad.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor AF 300/4 IF ED.

Sharp optics, convenient focal lengths.

Heavy and has a tendency to "hunt" in low light

Ive bought this lens to replace an old Nikon 300/2.8. It has been used extensively on my trip to New York, Vancouver, New Zealand and Japan. It performed without a hitch.Used on a Nikon F5.I was happy with the results.

Customer Service

None required at present.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 300/2.8 IFED and Sigma 300/2.8 AF

potential

image quality

I did alot of reasearch before purchasing the Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 to be used on a Nikon D2H and D100 for our sports photography business. This lens came highly recommended and I had seen several fantastic images from the lens taken on both Nikon and Canon digital SLR's and the price was of $1900.00 was a steal for 300 F/2.8 with zoom capability. However..the particular model that i received will not deliver sharp images on any Nikon AF camera that we have...both film and digital. The focus is always behind the selected subject, the main element had some defects in the glass and the lens/camera fit was not loose...and the images are unusable but Sigma insisted that the problem was in the camera so I sent the D2H back to Nikon for adjustment and diagnosis. When I received the camera back from Nikon, I attached the lens, shot some images and the results were the same. I sent this lens back to Sigma service and told them that I wanted a replacement lens because this one is a lemon. The service department had the lens for three weeks, never returned any e-mails and I had to wait on hold nearly every time I tried to call. I finally got the lens back and the results were the same with the focus, the lens mount was still loose and the spots were stil on the front lens element. I sent the lens back again and demanded a replacement but they said they were sending it back to Japan for anaylsis. I told them that I have over $2000.00 invested in a lens, filter and teleconverter and haven't made one penny with it. I wanted to return it to B&H but the tripod mount had scars on the bottom from the monopod and they wouldn't take it back and I would have to deal with the manufacturer. While this lens was in for, what I thought, would be a short stint in the repair facility, I purchased a Nikkor 70-300G lens as an emergency replacement and the images from that lens are so far superior to the Sigma that it's amazing. You have to have bright sunlight to stop action but at least they are all in focus. The folks at Sigma were trying to convince me that the out of focus images were only on the computer screen and inherent to DSLR's. My only hope is that Sigma sends me a lens that will be fully compatable withe D2h and deliver the incredible images that this product is capable of.

Customer Service

worst I have dealt with

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 300 f4.5 Tokina 80-200 f/2.8

No bigger or heavier than an Nikkor 300/2.8 AF-S prime Built like a small tank Takes filters on the front element (although very expensive) Less than half the price (with extenders) of comparable Nikkor prime

As heavy as a small tank; while I can free-hand it, my pro friend who makes a living doing rodeos, found it too heavy. The lens really does best on a monopod, and not hung around one's neck. Metallic coating scuffs rather easily

This lens functions primarily in my hands for night-time action photography, requiring output at photojournalism and county fair quality levels. I have used it thus for rodeo & high school football and have taken perhaps 4000 images, often supplementing with an SB80DX flash. I have also used the 120-300 with both its 1.4X and 2X matched hypersonic extenders for daytime football. In this capacity, the lens has performed very well for me, generally capturing and holding focus, and providing very sharp images, including those shot a f/2.8. With 2X extender, color fidelity suffers a litlle, but the images are still very usable for action content. I have taken a few bird photos with it, using the 1.4X extender on a Fuji S2 and have been very satisfied with image quality

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 80-200/2.8D ED & 400/3.5 AIS